


First Visit

by Benfrosh



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, but it's the good kind of sad, kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Titania takes some time to make a visit to someone important.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Visit

If her directions were right, the ride shouldn’t be much longer, she thought to herself. The red haired knight hadn’t been around here for quite some time, one part work one part… not being ready, she guessed. But after the excitement of the last year, she felt that there were things she needed to settle just in case. Casting her eyes around, she finally spotted what she was looking for - a birch tree by the side of the road she was travelling down, with a barely-beaten path going off. People rarely travelled by this road, and it was starting to be grown over by the aggressive wildgrass. She considered clearing out the path again as she hopped off her horse and tied it to the tree. “Don’t worry, girl, I’ll be back soon,” she whispered to the horse, running her hand through its mane. She took one of the side saddlebags and gently took it over her shoulder before setting off to the west. On her back she carried a giant poleaxe, as tall as she was, and obviously worn from battle.

She hadn’t mentioned that she was making this trip to anyone in the Greil Mercenaries. She had told Mist that she just needed a vacation, which Mist gladly gave her considering the years of service she had gave the company. Deep down she suspected Mist knew what she was going to do, but… it wasn’t the time for Mist, and she wanted to have some time alone to deal with this on her own. Ike was off somewhere on his own adventure, so it was just her. Here. At Greil’s grave.

It wasn’t an elaborate or even obvious gravesite - even ignoring the difficult circumstances around his death, Greil wouldn’t approve of a fancy elaborate display. A small mound of raised earth, with alyssum growing in front, planted by Mist back when they buried him. For at least a small spot of beauty in all of this. What gave it away as Greil’s grave in particular was the two holes dug into the top, where there used to be an axe dug into the ground as a grave marker. But, with all the business with the Goddess, things had been desperate, and now here she was, bringing Urvan back to its original owner.

As she approached the grave, she didn’t quite know what to do at first. She’d organized funerals before - it was never pretty, but it was a risk of the job. Tragic, but it happens. But to happen to this man… it left her at a loss, a feeling altogether unusual. Loss. That was the correct word to describe what she was feeling. Greil was a presence that filled her heart, and when he… died…

Shit, she thought to herself. She was already starting to tear up. She ended up sitting down on the mound of earth, her armor clinking as she did. She absolutely didn’t need to be wearing armor, the area has been peaceful even during the war, but it was a habit she could never shake. Life with the mercenaries had been her entire life… was still her entire life, even now. And Greil had been a large part of that.

She took a deep breath. Maybe… maybe saying it out loud would help.

“Hey, Greil. It’s been a while.”

No response. Obviously.

“Haven’t talked with you in ages. Ike’s been doing great, you know. Looks more and more like you every day. He’s done so much for… everyone, really. You’d be proud.”

…

“One hell of a sword arm now. He finally fought the Black Knight. He won, too. Kicked his ass to Goldoa and back. Hopefully… that helps you rest a little more easy. We got him in the end.”

…

“Mist’s been doing great too. Ike’s decided to take a break from the whole mercenary business for a while, so Mist’s taken over. Got a real mind for the business, turns out. She’s no slouch in combat now, you know. Not a lot of combat work nowadays, but we do what we can, still. Help people out.”

…

“Sorry I borrowed Urvan from you. Things got hectic, we had to kill a god, you know how it goes.” She stifled a laugh. Not every day you have to fight the Goddess. “It’s a damn fine axe. Thank you for letting me use it.”

…

“You don’t mind if I keep it around a bit longer, do you? It’s a good axe, and… it reminds me of you.”

…

She took a deep breath.

“I loved you, you know. You were amazing, strong, powerful, kind… but I didn’t want to get between you and Elena. Even after she died… I didn’t want to interfere with her memory. I thought just being near you, working to keep you happy, would be enough for me. But then when you died… I never got to say anything to you. Never got any closure to that. It’s been this big gaping void in my heart for years now. I’ve tried to fill it with work, with raising Ike and Mist for you, but they don’t need me anymore. I have to really face this now. Tell you what I’ve never wanted to tell anyone.”

…

She actually laughed at that. “Well, except Ike. He figured the whole thing out, somehow. Clever boy.”

…

“… You probably knew, didn’t you? He takes after you in so many ways… you probably knew the whole time. And you never called me out on it.”

…

“… Thanks, Greil. Being with you… was an honor.”

…

“Mind if I eat a bit? It was a long trip getting here.” She took out some rations from her pack and took a big bite from one of them. As she chewed, she looked at the sunset in the west.

The sunset seemed more beautiful, here and now, than it ever had been before. Titania sat and watched as it sunk below the horizon.


End file.
